SentriLock

How Does Real Estate Privacy Law Protect You?
When we think about privacy law, our minds tend to direct us to things like healthcare HIPPA pamphlets and cybersecurity, with all those little checkboxes that we agree to but never read. Now consumers are starting to question real estate privacy law. Eyes and Ears Chances are you or someone you know has jumped on the trend of video doorbells, such as Ring, where the homeowners are "always home." These are great security measures to protect the homeowner's family and assets while you they in the home. However, they can also become an invasion of privacy when trying to sell the home. In the age where cameras are everywhere, even as you drive down the road, you may be thinking, why would someone's home be any different than the corner store's "Smile, you're on camera" posters? Real estate privacy law is making a fuss because things discussed during home showings could affect the agents' ability to negotiate. If a seller were to hear conversations between the buyer and their agent regarding offer strategy, it could literally cost them. Real estate privacy lawmakers are now recognizing the risk of surveillance during home sales. This is why they are educating Realtors on how to protect buyers and sellers. Home surveillance now needs to be disclosed by the sellers. Home surveillance doesn't stop at video doorbells, but also security cameras. This includes baby monitors, nanny cams, smart thermostats, and home assistants with listening features, such as Amazon Alexa's "drop-in" ability. Public or Private Another branch of real estate privacy law to consider is which information is out there for Tom, Dick, and Harry to see about a homeowner and/or their property. In turn, what information can Realtors legally (and ethically) give out? When buying a home, there are certain pieces of information that are a matter of public record and make sense. These items include: Property Sales History Tax Records Facts and Features of the property Construction Details Utility information HOA information School district boundaries Areas that real estate privacy law protects are the more personal pieces that are not relevant to the purchase of a property. These items are covered under The Fair Housing Act, as found in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines. This real estate privacy law states that The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of: Race Color National Origin Religion Sex Familial Status Money (Shouldn't) Talk The number of hands touching the deal does not stop at the Realtor. Consumers are making one of the largest investments of their life. Where you hear purchase, you hear money, and that brings us to yet another branch of real estate privacy law: financial institutions. This includes banks, mortgage loan originators and real estate settlement providers, to name a few. Unless otherwise noted, these real estate privacy laws are on a federal level. Real estate privacy law limits the consumer information these institutions are allowed to share. Some items that lenders will need but should never be shared with other parties in the transaction: Salary Credit Score Pay Stubs Tax returns Financial statements The National Association of Realtors (NAR) adds another layer of education for Realtors. NAR aims to help agents protect their clients and contains comprehensive information on how real estate associations, agents and brokers can prioritize data security and privacy to protect client information and comply with legal responsibilities. Protecting Your Private Information Your financial and personal information is especially sensitive. Ensuring the safekeeping of your private information should be priority No. 1. Your private information is just that, your information. It is important to know the ins and outs of protecting your data. To view the original article, visit the Transactly

SentriKey Mobile App vs. SentriCard
Wondering about the benefits of using the SentriKey Real Estate mobile app versus using a SentriCard to access your properties? While the SentriCard gets the job done -- it opens SentriLock lockboxes -- it's not able to provide the robust experience that the SentriKey Real Estate mobile app does. Check out these benefits of using the mobile app, and you'll understand why over three-quarters of all SentriLock lockbox accesses are with the app! Benefits of the SentriKey® Real Estate Mobile App With the SentriKey® Real Estate app, you can: Open SentriLock lockboxes. Use your smartphone or tablet to open lockboxes. Learn how to open the key compartment on a SentriLock REALTOR® Bluetooth® Lockbox Learn how to open the key compartment on a non-Bluetooth® lockbox Access via Touch ID / facial recognition. Use Touch ID or facial recognition instead of your PIN to quickly and easily access your most-used functions. Learn how to enable Touch ID Release the shackle and assign/unassign a lockbox to a property. Release your lockbox shackle and assign and/or remove your lockbox from a property easily. Learn how to release the shackle on a SentriLock REALTOR® Bluetooth® Lockbox Learn how to release the shackle on a non-Bluetooth® lockbox Learn how to assign a Bluetooth® lockbox to a property Get property details. Upon opening the lockbox, you're presented with powerful features, including showing instructions, property details, listing agent information, and more. Learn about property details and how useful they can be Grant secure temporary access. Use the mobile app to generate One Day Codes or grant SentriConnect® access, which provides secure, trackable access to out-of-area agents, contractors, and more, and receive notification upon access use. Learn how to get a One Day Code Learn how to grant SentriConnect access Receive instant notifications. Get instant notifications via the Message Center to learn about missing keys, the beginning of a showing, the end of a showing, and more. Learn how to view access logs Keep track of showings. Use the My Schedule feature to schedule and stay on top of showing appointments. Learn how to schedule an appointment Learn how to edit an appointment Make your showings safer and more secure. When enabled, the Agent Safety feature automatically and discreetly alerts your designated emergency contact when you do not feel safe or cannot confirm you're safe. Learn how to enable the Agent Safety feature Access property data integration listings. Transition seamlessly into other apps to access all the detailed listing information you need from our integration partners. End a showing early. If you finish before the end of the allotted time, let the listing agent and sellers know. Learn how to manually end a showing And, best of all, there's no need for card renewals – ever! Worried that you won't have SentriKey® Real Estate mobile app access if you're outside of cell-service coverage? We can help make sure you stay connected. Here's how: For Bluetooth® boxes: A good practice is to update your SentriKey® Real Estate Mobile App credentials each day. Whether you're a listing agent, showing agent, or an affiliated user, before you leave home or the office, launch the app on your mobile device. By authenticating, your credentials are good for 24 hours. When interacting with the SentriLock REALTOR® Bluetooth® Lockbox, it requires only a Bluetooth® connection to open the key door, even if you're out of cell-service coverage. For non-Bluetooth® boxes: If you're going to a showing in a remote area and that listing isn't using a Bluetooth® lockbox, we have a solution for you, too. Success is achieved by using the My Schedule function in the SentriKey® Real Estate app. This is done either by the listing agent creating the appointment directly in the SentriKey® Real Estate system, or through leveraging our integrations with other third-party showing services. When the showing is scheduled, and the app detects low or no cellular coverage, you'll be presented with a Mobile Access Code in the app. No card needed, no Bluetooth® needed! You don't need to use a SentriCard® to open your SentriLock lockbox. Instead, always stay connected with the SentriKey® Real Estate mobile app! Get Started with the SentriKey® Real Estate App Want an overview on how to use the SentriKey® Real Estate app? Sign up for our App School, which will guide you through the process screen by screen. To view the original article, visit the SentriLock

Real Estate Cybersecurity Practices That Should Become Your Second Nature
The real estate industry can't function without sensitive information. The amount of personally identifiable information floating through real estate networks makes it a primary target for cybercriminals. Cyberattacks can result in disruption of business, financial loss and damage to reputation. Today, we are going to speak about the real estate cybersecurity practices that should become your second nature. Real estate agents are responsible for keeping their clients' information safe. Unfortunately, the real estate industry doesn't have regulations in place for real estate professionals and companies to adopt cybersecurity practices. So, the responsibility falls to individual agents. Remember, cyberattacks often are human behavior oriented. And by being aware and proactively monitoring our daily habits, we can significantly reduce the risk of the cybersecurity breach. So, what daily practices should real estate agents be aware of? Passwords This seems like an obvious answer, but you would be surprised how many people forget to update passwords or fail to use strong passwords. Weak or obvious passwords make the job of a cybercriminal easier. The best practice for keeping your clients' information safe is to keep your passwords completely random. No identifiable pattern means a whole lot of work for cybercriminals. If you want to have a secure password but also remember it, use a passphrase that is familiar to you only. Do not share your passwords with anyone. And always activate two-factor authentication for every account possible personal or business. USB Devices According to the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) USB devices are one of the major problems when it comes to cybersecurity breaches. It's easy to bring malware into your computer with a USB drive. That can significantly endanger your clients' personally identifiable information. USB devices present a classic situation known as the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The good is that USB is an extremely popular, easy to use and inexpensive method to store and transfer files. Unfortunately, USB drives are often lost, or they simply stop working. This is the bad. And the ugly side of USB is definitely the ease of it getting infected and infecting your computer with malware. Instead of using USBs, we urge you to explore safer alternatives. Phishing Phishing emails are a very widespread phenomenon lately. They look like an official email, but that's just a disguise to scam you. The totally legit appearance doesn't make you question the validity of it, and you might enter your personally identifiable information or click on malicious links. That's why it's so important to be aware of phishing. So, what should you pay attention to? First of all, read your email carefully, and watch out if: The email is urging you to take action The email is inconsistent The email contains grammatical errors The email contains attachments and hyperlinks Software Updates Software updates is one the core four issues that make cybersecurity a liability. Software updates contain important security patches that keep your devices safe. Not updating your softwares might endanger your and your clients' personal information. Little Tips and Tricks You Shouldn't Forget About Don't forget to lock up your computer screen. If you're an agent on the run and you're constantly moving, there is a chance you might lose your laptop. Locking your screen will at least prevent cybercriminals from accessing your personal data. If you're still using USBs, use encrypted and high quality USBs, and don't plug it in untrusted devices. P.S. Want to know more about cybersecurity in the real estate industry? Check out our blog, Cybersecurity Guidelines for Real Estate Agents. To view the original article, visit the Realtyna